Getty Acquires Rediscovered Diego Velázquez Painting

The J. Paul Getty Museum today announced that it has acquired the recently rediscovered 17th-century painting “Portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares” by Spanish artist Diego Velázquez (1599-1660). The painting will go on view at the Getty Center this fall in the Museum’s East Pavilion.

“Velázquez was one of the greatest painters of early modern Europe and one of the most remarkable proponents of the long and multifaceted tradition of state portraiture,” said Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “This work is a landmark addition to Getty’s collection, made even more extraordinary by the painting’s history as it was not fully known until recently.”

The painting depicts Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, better known as the Count Duke of Olivares, in bust-length. Adorned in gold-trimmed armor and a red sash, he turns to look intently at the viewer. Olivares served as valido, or prime minister, to the Spanish King Philip IV and held near absolute power over Spanish governance for over two decades. He was central to military and administrative reforms and was portrayed by Velázquez in a number of paintings.

Velázquez likely executed the painting as a diplomatic gift to cardinal Francesco Barberini during his embassy to Madrid in the summer of 1626. In the 1631 inventory of the Barberini collection in Rome, there is indeed a record of “a painting with the portrait of Count Olivares, that is [his] head and armored bust,” which likely corresponds to this painting. Believed to have remained in Italy, the painting was recorded in the Coppellotti collection in Asti over the course of the 20th century and resided with the family until it was acquired by a private collector in 2025 and later sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum.

The painting was previously known only through a famous engraving by Paulus Pontius designed by Peter Paul Rubens, which was sent to Olivares, who in turn acknowledged its receipt in a warm and personal letter to the artist. The inscriptions on the printed portrait specify that the effigy of Olivares was based on a prototype by Velázquez, while Rubens was the inventor of the elaborate allegorical framework. It is evident that Velázquez’s painting, considered lost until its recent rediscovery, must be the prototype for the engraving.

“This commanding and almost intimidating portrait is a strong visual record of one of Spain’s most powerful 17th century statesmen that exemplifies the painter’s innovation in court portraiture and his superb ability to capture the sitter’s personality directly from life,” said Davide Gasparrotto, senior curator of paintings at the Getty Museum. “It is a major addition to the Getty’s collection of 17th-century European paintings and adds a major example to our growing holdings of Spanish paintings.”

There are around 120 known existing paintings by Velázquez, with about 50 held in the collection at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid. This is the first painting by Velázquez to enter Getty’s collection and the first by the artist to reside on the West Coast of the United States.

This newly identified portrait of Olivares marks the most significant addition to Velázquez’s oeuvre in recent years. The portrait has been recently published by Salvador Salort-Pons, director of the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA), and a leading scholar of 17th-century Spanish painting. While preparing an exhibition devoted to the portraits of Olivares, he came across this previously unknown painting in a private collection. Subsequent analysis proved it to be a masterpiece by Velázquez, and technical examination revealed numerous “pentimenti” (changes), demonstrating that the artist substantially revised Olivares’ dress and armor.

After being shown at the Getty Center, the painting will be displayed alongside other portraits of Olivares in the exhibition “Velázquez & Olivares: Early Years at Court” at the DIA from Jan. 24 to July 25, 2027.